subject: Developing An Erp Software [print this page] In past few years, every business firms have hunted to expand and improve their command over a number of information systems and amalgamate all of them in order to provide a sole regular view of business operations and information.
The standard practice is to develop a module for each department of a company. The five common modules we come across in an erp software are: Finance, Stock Management, Manufacturing, Sales and Purchase. Each module is to automate the book keeping process of a company. The finance module is for use by the Finance department of the company. Similarly, a separate module is created for use by each module. The team developing erp software has to have all information pertaining to working of each department and inter relationships between each department. The working of a department can be thought of as consisting of a sequence of many events occurring on a daily basis. Each event in turn can be defined by a set of data. Also, each piece of data can be stored in the database based on certain set of rules. All this, together define an event. The erp team has to collect information about the working of the company, classify the working of a department as a set of events, identify all data which has to be recorded during an event, determine how each piece of data is to stored, and how the data is to be displayed. This process has to repeated for each department and the collective information becomes the foundation for creating the erp software.
Programming expertise
The importance of programming experience and expertise need not be specifically emphasized for developing an erp software. The development team should preferably have experience in developing software applications which have been implemented and used practically. This experience will enable an individual to appreciate the importance of usage of features by end user. Any feature, however technologically superior they may be, are of no use if they are not used by users. Expertise in using front end tools (.Net framework ) either VB.Net or C# is a must. What we create using the front end tool is of vital importance as this what the end user sees first in an erp software. Creating forms, menus, and using controls is an art. If an user finds it easy to navigate through all the pages and enter data, experience shows the usage of software is more, which should be the goal of any erp programming team.
every ERP software implementation is rigorous task and usually includes the following steps:
Planning of project
Choosing an Enterprise software selection/review team
Analyzing business and operational process
Identification of best practices
Apart from this, ERP software evaluation also includes:
RFP creation
Joint conception of a implementation plan
Mapping of business needs and modules configuration
Data adaptation from legacy systems
Documentation & Production
Finally post-implementation support and auditing
Database Adiministration expertise
All data entered in an erp software is stored in a database. The database is repository of all data pertaining to different departments of a company. A database administrator takes care of all issues pertaining to the database. The erp team should possess a high degree of expertise regarding databases. A successful erp with high uptime is directly related to the uptime of the database. A database administrator with hands on practical experience of maintaining a database is an important member of the erp team.
Databases of today have rigorous but simple setup server procedures, sophisticated security features, tools to create the database files, and setup the relationship between tables. Databases can be manipulated using sql programs called stored procedures which are a vital feature. Stored procedures are used to perform validations while the data is being added. Stored procedures are written to Insert, Update and delete data in the database.
An erp software has to have data access technology to transfer data entered in the erp software to the database server. Microsofts ado.net. is used to develop data access component. ERP software of today have to be developed using disconnected architecture and ado.net supports such an architecture.
Application Architecture expertise
Developing an erp software is a long drawn process and requires a high level of commitment and willingness to go through the hurdles and setbacks. But, once done an erp software can set a company ahead of competitors with the immense benefits it offers.
